Darwin's contribution to psychiatry

Br J Psychiatry. 2009 Dec;195(6):473-4. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.109.072116.

Abstract

This November we celebrated the sesquicentennial of the Origin of Species, a landmark in the history of biology. Yet Darwin's chief contribution to psychiatry appears in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872), where he describes 'the grief muscles', later identified as a sign of melancholic illness.

Publication types

  • Editorial
  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Biological Evolution*
  • Emotions*
  • Facies
  • History, 19th Century
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders / history*
  • Psychiatry*